President George Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
On October 18, 2002, a group of Falun Gong practitioners filed a class
action lawsuit in the United States District Court of the Northern District
of Illinois, Eastern Division, against Jiang Zemin (the former Chinese
leader) and the Falun Gong Control Office 6/10. Charges included torture,
genocide, denial of the right to life, denial of the rights to liberty
and security of the person, denial of the right to be free from arbitrary
arrest and imprisonment, denial of the right to the freedoms of thought,
conscience and religion, and denial of the right to the freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to associate freely.
We would like to stress that defendant Jiang’s status as a former head-of-state
should not allow his exemption from punishment. Article 4 of the Genocide
Convention states that persons who commit genocide shall be punished,
whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials
or private individuals. Moreover, former heads of state cannot shield
themselves behind head-of-state immunities in federal courts in the
United States and elsewhere around the globe.
We, the undersigned, urge the United States to express strong support
for this case and help bring Jiang Zemin to justice.